The 26th annual Eastern Kentucky Classic was held at the Morgan County Community Center, in West Liberty, Kentucky.
The event featured 19 of the top players in Eastern Kentucky, and abroad, including California, vying for the prestigious tournament singles and doubles championship.
Eastern Kentucky Classic singles open round 1 results: Dickie Williams def. Mason Ward; Larry Salyer def. Daniel Arnett; Inter-County Champion Josh Frisby def. Dalton Adkins; Langley Franklin def. Gabe Bailey; Nathan Perkins def. John Ward; Kyle Howard def. Junior Champion Mack Parsons in a battle of the two top juniors in EKTT.
Donnie Pack def. Nick Caldwell; Thomas Patrick, one of our top juniors, gave Isaiah Prater, an 11-time former Inter-County Champion a scary match as it went to the third and final game, where Isaiah won 14-12; Eastern Kentucky Champion Byron Risner def. Dickie Williams; “The Punisher” Junior Gullett def. Nathan Perkins; “The One” Josh May def. Donnie Pack.
Singles Quarter-Finals: Byron Risner def. Larry Salyer; Josh Frisby def. Langley Franklin; Junior Gullett def. Kyle Howard; Josh May def. Isaiah Prater in a brutal match that saw May win game one 17-15, lose game two 11 to 9, and recovering to take game three by a score of 11 to 8. What a match!
Singles Semi-Finals: Byron Risner def. Josh Frisby; Josh May def. Junior Gullett in a battle that went to the last game.
Eastern Kentucky Classic Final: Eastern Kentucky Singles Champion Byron Risner def. Josh May 11-7 and 11-8 to claim his 16th EKC Championship. The second game was a back-and-fourth contest, until Risner went on a four to one run to win 11-8. Outstanding effort by both finalists in this prestigious finale.
Byron Risner finished with a perfect record, going 8-0 in games played, and 4-0 in matches played. Risner has held the Eastern Kentucky Singles Championship since Oct. 21, of 2016, and he is currently on a 24 match winning streak. Just an amazing streak by our most decorated player of all-time, and Hall of Famer.
Consolation Bracket Results: Mason Ward def. Nathan Perkins; Thomas Patrick def. Donnie Pack; Dickie Williams def. John Ward; Dalton Adkins def. Nick Caldwell.
Mason Ward def. Mack Parsons; Dickie Wiliams def. Daniel Arnett; Gabe Bailey def. Dalton Adkins.
Larry Salyer def. Mason Ward; Langley Franklin def. Thomas Patrick; Kyle Howard def. Dickie Williams in the “match of the night.” Kyle won 11 to 9, Dickie won game two 13 to 11, and Kyle rebounded to win the last game 16 to 14. Congratulations to both these players for an unreal match! Isaiah Prater def. Gabe Bailey.
Larry Salyer def. Langley Franklin in another classic between the two, winning two games to one with each game decided by two! Isaiah Prater def. Kyle Howard.
In the Consolation Semi-finals, Junior Gullett def. Larry Salyer; and Isaiah Prater def. Josh Frisby in a grueling contest.
Consolation Final/ Determines 3rd and 4th place: Junior Gullett def. Isaiah Prater to claim third place, and both players become members of the 26th EKC Final Four. Congrats!
Doubles Tournament:
Round 1: Byron Risner and Daniel Arnett def. Larry Salyer and Dalton Adkins; Gabe Bailey and Josh Frisby def. Nick Caldwell and Thomas Patrick; Junior Gullett and Josh May def. Dalton Adkins and Dickie Williams; Langley Franklin and Isiah Prater def. Nathan Perkins and Mack Parsons.
Semi-finals: Byron Risner and Daniel Arnett def. Gabe Bailey and Josh Frisby; Junior Gullett and Josh May def. Langley Franklin and Isiah Prater.
Consolation for 3rd Place: Langley Franklin and Isaiah Prater def. Gabe Bailey and Josh Frisby.
Eastern Kentucky Classic Doubles Final: Junior Gullett and Josh May def. Byron Risner and Daniel Arnett.
Eastern Kentucky Classic top 6 finishers: 1) Byron Risner; 2) Josh May; 3) Junior Gullett; 4) Isaiah Prater; 5) Larry Salyer 6) Josh Frisby
EKC Doubles Top three finishers: 1) Junior Gullett and Josh May 2) Byron Risner and Daniel Arnett 3) Isaiah Prater and Langley Franklin
Match of the Night: Dickie Williams vs. Kyle Howard
Best Junior Performance: Kyle Howard
Best Senior Performance: Larry Salyer (5th place)
It was a special night for sure. Daniel Arnett, an EKTT Board member, traveled all the way from California to attend! A special thanks to him for this incredible effort.
We look forward to what we hope is our biggest year ever in 2018! With such talent, and interest, we are going where no table tennis league has gone before! Happy New Year!
Eastern Kentucky Table Tennis 